نشریه تاکسونومی و بیوسیستماتیک
سال ششم شماره 1 (پیاپی 18، بهار 1393)

This study was carried out to determine the diversity of gastropod species in the intertidal zone of Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf. Seasonal sampling was conducted in 7 selected sites by throwing nine random quadrates (0.5×0.5 m) in each site. Samples of each site were separately transferred to the laboratory and identified by the standard keys and verified by the Conchology Museum of Tokyo University of Science. Forty -nine gastropod species were identified, from which 2 species, Turicula nelliae and Linatella caudata were recorded for the first time from the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf. The highest number of gastropods in one site was 28 species in site 1 (East of Marine Research Center), Also highest number of gastropods in one season was 35 species in winter and lowest number was in 28 species in summer. Simpson dominance index, Shannon-Wiener species diversity index, Margalef richness index and evenness index were calculated in the different sites and results showed that site 1 contained the most amount of the Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices and site 6 (West of Island) contained the most amount of the Simpson index. Also, site 3 (Mangrove forest) showed the lowest amount of the Simpson, Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices, while maximum amount of evenness index occurred in this site.

In order to identify the epigeic Collembola fauna of Shahid Zare forest (Latitude 36° 32' 2" N, Longitude 52° 7' 45" E and elevation of 40-116 meters above mean sea level), located in the east of Sari city (Mazandaran Province, Iran), some pit fall traps were placed in several sites of this forest, in April 2012. Then, the trapped springtails were separated after being transported to the entomology laboratory of Sari University of agricultural sciences and natural resources. The microscopic slides were prepared and the species were identified using verified identification keys. Among the collected specimens, the genus Allacma Börner and the species Allacma fusca (Linnaeus) were recorded from Iran for the first time.

In the present research, lizard fauna of Harsin on the south east of Kermanshah province was investigated. During a two-yeard field work, totally eight different species of lizards including, Laudakia nupta nupta (Agamidae), Trapelus lessonae Cyrtopodion scabrum and Carinatogecko heteropholis (Gekkonidae), Ophisops elegans, Lacerta media and Acanthodactylus boskianous (Lacertidae) and Eumeces schneiderii princeps (Scincidae) were collected, examined, identified and their biosystematic characters were studied. Based on observations in the field and statistical data of the collected specimens, it was found that the lizards of Lacertidae family with 66% was the most and Scincidae with only 2% was the least abundant species in the studied region. In addition, this study revealed that there was a similarity in terms of snout- vent length (SVL) between individuals of this area (Laudakia nupta nupta, Trapelus lessonae, Ophisops elegans) and individuals of the regions previously studied.

Despite superior medicinal properties of Birch, there aren’t any studies reported on its morphological diversity. For the first time, leaf samples were collected from four different sites, each site 10 trees and each tree 30 fertile and sterile shoots and leaves (totally 2400). In analyzing the mean values, the Siahmarz kuh showd the maximum and the Marmishoo minimum size mean. Angle of leaf base and number of veins had minimum and fluctuating asymmetry and distance border had a maximum coefficient of variation, minimum and maximum morphological diversity respectively. Average size of sterile leaf traits was larger than average size of fertile leaf traits. It seemed that Siahmarz Kuh is had the most interapopulation diversity and could apply a transition source to sink. The slightest change in the veins of the population in birch was more strongly controlled by genes. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated high statistical significance of all factors: leaf type, population, type population, tree nested population and type × tree nested population. The cluster analysis identified three clusters, the first cluster contained only Marmishoo trees. Because the majority of the population, geographic distribution of genotypes was not consistent with the grouping that could be due to the influence of environmental factors on morphological traits, so it is recommended to use molecular markers. Canonical discriminant analysis showed that petiole length ratio and fluctuating asymmetry could be used in future research on morphological diversity among populations of B. pendula.

The genus Alnus has two species in old references of the flora of Iran in which two varieties and one subspecies have been recorded. However, recently, five new taxa have been described and recorded for the flora of Iran. In this study, the herbarium samples were obtained during a widespread sampling from 25 stands, ranged from the most eastern limit of alder dispersion in Golestan to the west of Talish, across the plains and highlands of Hyrcanian forests. After sampling, 28 leaf and female cone morphological traits belonging to 140 alder individuals were measured and analyzed. The results of discriminant analysis showed 11 most important traits in differentiation of the taxa such as leaf angle in apex, blade shape at the base, type of serration, villosity intensity, presence of hairs on the upper surface of leaf and cone shape. In this analysis, 84.3% of recognized individuals were correctly grouped in the related taxon. The maximum disagreement between predicted and recognized groups corresponded to allocation of A. subcordata varieties to villosa and visc versa. Generally, the morphological traits of the two new species including A. dolichocarpa and A. djavanshirii were very similar to that of A. subcordata var. subcordata. While, three sub-species of A. glutinosa were distinguished by the same traits. Finally, the use of DNA barcoding techniques is suggested in order to verify the presence of new taxa in Iran.

This research is based on a floristic study in Bahar-ab Kuh area (Zagros mountains) in the border of Kermanshah and Ilam provinces, 128 plant species from 106 genera belonging to 38 families were identified. The richest families were Asteraceae with 17 species (13.28%), Fabaceae with 16 species (12.5%) and Poaceae with 15 species (11.70%), respectively. Euphorbia and Trifolium constituted the largest genera with 4 species. According to the life form spectrum, the highest proportion of life forms belonged to therophytes (46.93%), hemicryptophytes (25.76%), geophytes (11.71%), chamaephytes (8.59%) and phanerophytes (7.03%), respectively. Likewise, the highest proportion of chorotypes belonged to Irano-Turanian elements (53.90%), followed by Irano-Turanian/ Mediterranean (17.18%), Irano-Turanian/ Euro-Siberian (9.37%), Irano-Turanian/ Mediterranean/ Euro-Siberian (6.25%), Irano-Turanian/ Sahara-Sindian (5.46%), Irano-Turanian/ Euro- Siberian/ Sahara-Sindian (4.68%) and cosmopolitan elements (3.12%). Moreover, 5.46% of these plants were endemic for Iran.

In order to assess the genetic variations in Iranian fennel accessions, an experiment on15 fennel ones including 13 Iranian and two foreign ones were carried out in randomized block design with three replicates. According to analysis of variance significant differences were observed among all studied traits. Most of the traits showed moderate to high heritability (90%) except for the number of the days up to 50% appearance. Seed yield had positive correlation with number of lateral shoots. The first factor in factor analysis explained 83% of variation. Number of lateral shoots, wet weight, dry weight and seed yield had the highest value in the second Eigen, while in the third one plant height, inflorescence diameter and seed length showed the highest values. Cluster analysis classified 15 fennel accessions in four groups that showed high differences in seed yield, day of ripening and plant height. Furthermore, most of accessions were grouped based on their geographical and climatic conditions. Therefore, it would be possible to cross the elite genotypes from different clusters and select the best ones in order to introduce new cultivars with appreciable agronomic traits.

Assessing the floristic resources of each region is very important because it serves to identify it’s the genetic potential. The purpose of this study was to introduce floristic list, life forms and endangered species of Gheissari region. This region covers about 9816 ha and lies in the west part of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari province. Field data were collected in the years between 2009 and 2010. During that period, the plant species were collected and then identified based on families, genera and species using appropriate reference. The results showed that there were 487 plant species belonging to 65 families and 301 genera. The families like Composite, Gramineae, Papilionaceae, Labiatae, Cruciferae, Umbeliferae and Caryophyllaceae had 70, 46, 41 39, 38, 30 and 21 species, respectively. These families made up 58.52 percent of the total species. According to Raunkiaer’s life form, species were as below: 50.31% hemicryptophytes (245 species), 23.20% therophytes (113 species), 12.52% cryptophytes (61 species), 7.60% phanerophytes (37 species) and 5.75% chamephytes (28 species). The chorology of species showed that 67.15 percent of species belonged to Iran-Turanian, 5.75 percent Polyregional, 2.67 percent Cosmopolitan and the rest belonged to the others. Threatened species included 86 species of the total species from Iran-Turanian. Among them, the endangered class, vulnerable, lower risk and data deficient were 2, 3, 67 and 14 species respectively.

In this study, morphological seed diversity of 16 species of the genus Silene and Vaccaria hispanica was examined to survey the taxonomic significance by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The matured seeds of the species were collected from natural habitats in Iran. Fifteen qualitative and quantitative characters were measured based on SEM photographs. The shape of seeds was reniform in the 69 percent of species and the rest was asymmetry reniform, circular reniform and spherical. The dimension of seeds varied from 0.56×0.83 mm in S. araratica to 1.02×2.1 mm in S. swertiifolia. The lateral surfaces of 64.7 percent of the species studied were concave and the other species have flat or convex surface. The species studied have showed noteworthy diversity in seed coat cells features such as the dimension, the shape, the anticlinal walls and the sculpturing. An identification key was represented. According to the results, seed morphology features possessed taxonomic significance at the genus and species level.

Cuscuta is a common plant parasite and is able to attack several host species. Its haustoria could be penetrated into the phloem of host plant. In this study, the stem anatomy of six species and two varieties of Cuscuta (Cuscuta campestris, C. monogyna, C. brevistyla, C. kotschyana, C. epithymum, C. pedicellata, C. lehmanniana var. lehmanniana and C. babylonica var. babylonica) distributed in Khorassan provinces were investigated using the blue toluidine staining. Cross sections were provided by hand. Results showed that anatomical characters including stem diameter, position and distribution of vessels, number and size of vessels and number of parenchymatous layers were effective traits to taxonomically separate the species under study. Furthermore, the anatomical relationship between parasite and its host plant was examined.